Mathematical communication is well done, and appropriately valued, by our associations and societies. The MAA, for instance, publishes no fewer than nine book series, all of them expository in one sense or another. MAA journals and e-publications have a similar focus.

MAA journals are very popular. The Monthly, the Magazine, and the CMJ all rank regularly in the 30s—from among around 16,000 journals on Ingentaconnect—for full-text downloads.

Mathematical exposition is the main focus of MAA publications, but MAA has no monopoly on this important area. One notable example from the AMS is the What’s Happening in the Mathematical Sciences series, now in its eighth iteration and pushing 15 years old. This tightly edited and punchy series describes recent developments in mathematics and its applications for general mathematical audiences.

The AMS’s Mathematical Moments series of one-page posters on mathematical topics, aimed at students, is another notable and, to my eye, successful expository effort. It’s successful to my ear, too. I post these Moments outside my office door and hear students discussing them.

MAA and AMS are not alone. SIAM News, too, is full of sharply written and well-edited exposition, forthright commentary, and, yes, news about industrial and applied mathematics.

Commercial and university publishers also do good work in communicating expository mathematics. The A K Peters series, now part of CRC Press, is one notable and long-running example of fine, beautiful, stylish, and well-edited mathematics.

The Best Writing on Mathematicsseries is another example, from Princeton University Press. This annual anthology, now in its third year, assembles a remarkably eclectic selection of good writing on mathematical topics from all over, ranging from the mathematics of dance and photography to the philosophy of mathematical discovery and invention.

I propose that mathematical exposition be considered—not just by us, as mathematicians, but also by departments, colleges, universities, and the like—as a fully respectable mathematical activity.

I hasten to add that I think I’m preaching, here and now, mainly to the choir. Our societies, as the previous examples amply demonstrate, already respect and reward and promote good mathematical exposition, in at least some of its forms, just as they should.

But good mathematical exposition should be rewardable in what I referred to earlier as academic currency: tenure, promotion, and other forms of professional advancement. If societies like ours have a role to play here, it could be in advocating more strongly for broader and more accommodating professional reward systems for scholarly activity.

Given that I’ve spent much of my own mathematical career creating, editing, and promoting mathematical exposition, this may sound like special pleading. In fact, I have no personal axe to grind. My day-job institution, St. Olaf College, has what seems to me an exemplary policy on scholarly activity, defining it broadly, but emphasizing peer review to assure high standards and accountability. I find the example of Lynn Steen, now retired but formerly my departmental colleague and also a predecessor as MAA President (in 1985 and 1986), inspiring in this respect.

Like other forms of mathematical activity, mathematical exposition may be good, bad, or indifferent, depending significantly on its audience. (The quality of other forms of mathematical activity, come to think of it, also depends significantly on its audience.)

Mathematical exposition at its best is real and valuable mathematics. Mathematics is a big tent. Its vitality and growth depend on contributions from many directions. Telling its story takes everyone’s best efforts.

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For a report on Paul Zorn’s address, see the article by Claudia Clark.

What is Math Comm

MAA Mathematical Communication (mathcomm.org) is a developing collection of resources for engaging students in writing and speaking about mathematics. The site originated in the MIT Department of Mathematics and was expanded through support from an NSF grant.